


Like an After-School Special

by murderbreak



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, F/M, High School, slight Tony Stark/Pepper Potts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-04
Updated: 2013-03-17
Packaged: 2017-12-04 06:30:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/707611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/murderbreak/pseuds/murderbreak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I don't know, El. Sometimes, I just really feel like we belong in an after-school special or something."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Key to Sleepovers

“Just relaaaax,” Andy said, looking over to the girl with a wide grin.

“I’m serious though!” Eleanor replied, huffing as she looked back, adjusting the bag on her back as they walked. “What if they don’t remember me?”

“You’ve only been gone for a couple years, El,” Andy replied. “Besides, you’re not that easy to forget. Remember Tony’s party?”

“You shut your mouth.” Andy only laughed as the two pushed their ways through the door of Shield High—really odd name, Andy had kept El up all night one night during Freshman year trying to figure out the name of the damned place—and through the halls. Andy leaned against the locker next to her best friend’s while El got her things. “C’mon now, hurry hurry. We’ll miss our free time.”

“We got here half an hour early.”

“You’re moving like a sloth clinging to a turtle.”

“Your comparisons cease to make sense.” The locker shut, Andy cheered, and they were off to first period. Walking in, first initial reaction was for Andy to drop her things, hop up on the table, and steal a doughnut from Tony.

“Andybear!” Tony exclaimed, giving the girl the cheesiest smile he could manage.

“I’m going to murder you severely,” Andy replied, looking over at her friend and gesturing for her to come over. “Guys, you gotta remember El, right?” Natasha smiled brightly, Clint gave a nod, Bruce and Steve did a little wave, and Tony stared dumbfounded. El looked around the group almost shyly. These people have been her friends since second grade, why should she be shy?

“Tony, don’t be an ass, you know El.” Andy smacked the boy upside the head, and he huffed in response. Damn girl was nothing if she wasn’t violent.

“Yeah, yeah, I remember.” His lips pursed, eyes narrowing to a sharp glare as Andy shot him something of a bittersweet smile.

“Good! Now that we’re all reunited, I say Pizza Hut after school.”

“Didn’t we get kicked out, like, three times?” Steve asked.

“That was once, and not my fault,” Andy replied, eyes shooting to Clint. “What! The guy was asking for a spitball to the head,” he defended, arms crossing over his chest. A muttered “riiiiiiight” slipped past Natasha’s lips, and Clint shifted his eyes to her.

“I’m sensing the sexual tension. Our cue to leave,” Andy said, and she took a bite of her donut, grabbed El by her hand, and led her to the other side of the room, sitting the girl in the chair behind her. El grabbed the donut from her friend, took a bite, and shoved it back into the other’s mouth as it opened to protest. After nearly choking to death (not truly, she quit after Tony offered CPR), the teacher entered the room, took attendance, and the day had begun.

**\----------------------------------**

The final bell had rung, and Andy, El, Tony, Bruce, Steve, Clint and Natasha had all gathered outside, divvying up who will go with whom. Andy kept El at her side, and they were forced to go with Tony and Bruce, while Steve took his motorcycle, and Clint and Natasha took Clint’s truck. It was in no time that they reached the local Pizza Hut, and were seated at a table immediately. Andy blamed Tony’s reputation, and also silently thanked it.

“You slept with like, every girl here,” she accused as she shared her menu with Eleanor.

“Not _every_ one,” Tony defended himself. “Becky Trout in the back? A little too much for me to handle.”

“Anthony Stark, you are quite possibly the rudest ass I’ve ever met,” Andy looked up to him with a glare.

“Ah, but I can get you in anywhere with a wink.” As if to prove his point, he winked and waggled his brows at the girl, and in return Andy made exaggerated gagging noise and looked around at the group, who only shook their heads.

To distract everyone from the pair’s bickering, Natasha said, “ _So_ , El, it’s good to have you back.” She smiled over at her friend, and taking her hint, all but Andy and Tony turned their gazes to El. “How was Lawrence?”

El smiled and tucked some of her dyed-red hair behind her ear. “It wasn’t exactly terrible,” she said, biting her lip for a moment. “But living in the house of two hardcore Christans and a spoiled brat isn’t exactly high on my list of 'Fun Shit to do in Life'.” She made a face, causing her friend to laugh.

“That bad?”

“They threw Holy Water on me once.”

“Well shit,” Clint said with a laugh.

Not two seconds later did their food come, and as soon as the waitress left Andy said, “Tasha, come stay the night tonight, celebrate Ellie’s coming home.”

“Sure totally” was the reply.

“Stealing my girlfriend again?” Clint huffed.

“When you starting working her better than I can, I’ll give her back,” Andy said with a shrug.

“When do we get to see how you work her?” Tony asked, and ended up getting a breadstick shoved in his mouth with Andy muttering “Eat it, Stark” and laughter around the table.

**\------------------------------------------------------**

As promised, Natasha had come over after the scene at Pizza Hut (“It wasn’t my fault!” Andy constantly defended). Clint dropped them off at Andy and El’s place, and after a quick “No satanic rituals” he sped off. “Pft!” Andy said, pushing their door open. “He’s no fun. Doesn’t he know that satanic rituals are the key to fun sleepovers?”


	2. It's War Time

“Fuckin’ nut!” Andy exclaimed as she quickly copied Tony’s physics homework. His trademark cocky-ass smirk was tilting his lips up as he leaned back in his chair, feet up on the desk in front of him.

“Oh, Andy, will you ever learn?” he asked, and she threw her pencil at him before scrabbling to pick it up and continue the work, which only caused the boy to laugh more.

“Stop laughing! I’ll start learning when Mr. Selvig starts putting what we learn on the stupid homework.” She finished it up quickly, and slid the paper across the table back to him. “Thanks, Stark.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said and slid the paper into his bag. The two then ensued into a game of paper football, Andy cursing her terrible knack to get paper cuts easily, and blaming Tony for his shitty aim.

The bell rang for lunch, and the pair were dismissed from Study Hall, earning the daily dark looks from Ms. Hill as they slipped out. Out of the corner of her eye Andy caught a wave, and she told Tony to go ahead and that she’d be there in a sec. He paused to watch her skip over to Jean Grey, who in turn turned her to the group consisting of Logan, Ororo (or Storm, as everyone else knew her), and Marie. She grinned and greeted them happily, and Tony turned in near disgust. He walked away, very well aware that she wouldn’t be catching up and would instead be skipping lunch to hang out with the group.

He sighed, shaking his head. He knew she deserved better friends than that, but he also knew that he couldn’t pick and choose her friends, nor could he keep her confined to the group that they had. Hell, _no one_ could keep Andy confined. It’d take an army, at least.

“Something wrong, Tony?”

He heard the voice break through his thoughts, and when he looked up he realized that he’d come face to face with Pepper, his girlfriend. Or, something like that. They hung around a lot, and they kissed, among other things. So, yeah. Guess that was the right label.

He shook his head, giving her a small, somewhat forced smile. “Nah, I’m good,” he replied and nodded a bit. He took her hand, giving her a light peck on the cheek, and hearing her giggle he knew she’d forgotten about it. “How about for lunch, you and I head out to the back lot, and we’ll take the rest from there?” He waggled his brows suggestively, playfully, and Pepper only hit his chest.

“Tony, we’re in public!” she squealed. He only shrugged, his lips curling into their trademark smirk as he lead her towards the back door that would lead to their usual make-out spot.

**\-------------**

“So I’ll see you tomorrow?” Pepper asked with a bite of her lower lip, and in his usual response, Tony nodded. He leaned forward, giving her a soft kiss on the lips before they pulled apart and Tony drove off. He drove for a good five minutes before he pulled up to Steve’s house, seeing the familiar motorcycle in the driveway. He parked, and made his way inside.

“Steeeeeeeve, I need food and I’m dying,” he exclaimed, moving his way to the familiar kitchen.

“Yeah, sure Ton, just make your way right in and help yourself,” Steve commented with roll of his eyes as he descended the stairs.

“Don’t mind if I do!” Tony was already bent into the fridge, shifting through different dips and foods and drinks, and—oh God, is that a protein shake? How do people even drink those? He shoved it aside, making a face of disgust and when Steve entered the kitchen, Tony had a bottle of Coke along with whatever was left of the Jell-O his mom had made the other night.

“You’re ridiculous,” Steve said with a shake of his head. “You know that right?”

Stark made an (almost) offended noise around the dessert in his mouth. “Am not,” he replied after swallowing. “I’m Tony. Get your names straight, buddy.”

Steve rolled his eyes as he grabbed an apple and took a bit. “Oh ha ha,” he deadpanned. “You’re so damn hilarious.”

“I know,” Tony agreed proudly. Steve narrowed his eyes, wondering if his friend knows when to detect sarcasm or not before he remembers—how could he ever forget?—that Tony was a proud and cocky kid, and will take nearly anything as a compliment with just as much sarcasm if needed.

The light-haired boy just shook his head again and finished off his apple. “C’mon, it’s war time.”

“Who’s all in today?” Tony asked as he and Steve pulled on their headsets while Call of Duty loaded up.

“Just Andy and Clint today,” Steve replied, wrinkling his nose as he pressed “start”.

“Doesn’t Andy have work today?”

“My shift doesn’t start until 6,” came the girl’s reply through Tony and Steve’s headphones. “You just want me to go because then you’ll have a chance of winning.”

“I’d have a chance if they’d just have a damn bow and arrow,” Clint chimed in.

“This is war, Clint,” Steve said, choosing the Nuketown map as their battlefield of choice. “Not the Medieval times.” Clint just grumbled something in reply and the match was on.

First to die was Tony.

“This is bull!” he cried, huffing. He and Clint were in a deadlocked race as to who dies first the most, and Tony was in the lead yet again. Andy never failed to be the one that shoots him down, too. Her laugh echoed through, and Tony was revived again, out and deciding to try and hide for once—actually, he always hid. It was the only thing that he could think of because when it came to confrontation, he spiraled out of control and his aim was anywhere but the enemy.

This, of course, is never a good thing when you’re playing against a couple of possible real-life master assassins.

“Aw, Stark, cheer up! Here, go for Barton. Backyard, green house.”

“Hey! The hell—OH COME ON.”

Frustrated noises sounded through each player’s pair of headphones, as did the cackle of the only female player in the group. This was a process that repeated itself over and over that night, until Andy had said, “Alright guys, I gotta work. Behave and play fair now.”

“Like you should be talking,” Tony muttered.

“Just shut up and play. Clint, kill ‘im for me.”

“Sure thing.”

And then the girl was gone, and Tony was sure he would finally start getting some hits.

Until Clint sniped him at the last second.


	3. Thanks, Bruce

“If you hated them so much, how come you stayed for so long?” Bruce asked El as they waited for class to start.

“Well, I didn’t technically have the right to move back out,” she said. “Plus, no money.” She shrugged, pursing her lips to the side. “I’m lucky Andy convinced her "Uncle" Fury to her some money to bring me back.”

Bruce nodded, pushing his glasses up the brim of his nose. “Definitely. We missed you, you know.”

“Well, everyone except Tony.” She let out a quiet laugh, remembering his look of near-confusion at her return, and to be honest, she’d had no idea if he had playing with her or not.

“Of course he did,” Bruce said, laughing along with her. “We all know how he gets sometimes; when he has his focus on one thing, that’s all he’s got in his head.”

“That’s true. I do remember that quality about him.” She nodded slightly, brushing her curled, velvet-colored hair behind her ear before looking up at her friend. “And the rest of you? You’ve all been good?”

“Oh yeah,” the boy agreed. “Clint and Natasha are coming up on their 3rd year anniversary, Steve got accepted into the military, Tony’s managing to keep Pepper around—”

“Tony’s with Pepper?” Eleanor couldn’t help the frown that crossed her features. If there was one person that she did not like, it was Virginia “Pepper” Potts.

“Uh, yeah.” Bruce’s brows furrowed. “Never thought Tony the kind for a relationship,” El murmured.

“Neither did we,” Bruce agreed. He shrugged.

They were silent for a moment before El spoke again. “You never mentioned how Andy was doing.”

“I thought you’d’ve asked her, since, well, you two live together.”

“You know that she won’t tell me anything that she doesn’t think I wanna hear, Bruce.”

Bruce let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair for a moment and casting a quick glance to the ground before he looked back up again. “She dipped down,” he said quietly. “For a year, maybe a month or so longer. She stopped talking to us for a while. Natasha would try to convince her to come hang out, but she wouldn’t. She was miserable without you, El.” Eleanor’s frown only grew deeper and deeper with each word Bruce spoke. She wished that she’d never had to go, and maybe Andy wouldn’t have gotten that way. “I’m sorry,” her friend spoke quietly, and she looked up, seeing his true apologetic expression, and she gave him a reassuring smile as she shook her head.

“There’s no need to be,” she replied. “I’d rather one of our friends tell me than figure it out on my own.”

After a short while of silence Bruce smiled again and brought on a much brighter topic, to which El was very grateful for.


	4. Foreigners

The whispers were everywhere; the halls, the locker rooms, the classes, the bathrooms, literally everywhere. They wouldn’t be able to escape the murmurs, or the stares, or any of it. This was their momentary fame.

No one would approach them. There’s no way they’d have the guts; they were tall, one was buff as all get-out, and while the other didn’t have that kind build, he had this look that just told people to stay away.

And when it came to lunch time, and they had nowhere to go, one began to wonder if the intimidating approach was the right way to go about the situation, and he turned to his companion, ready to speak when a short girl came bounding up, lips curled up in a wide grin. “New guys! I’ve been looking for you. Come on, before someone else snatches you up.” Her nose crinkled and she made a gesture for the pair to follow before skipping off, almost like the White Rabbit of the Alice in Wonderland tales. But, seeing as the only other option of company was each other, they followed their white rabbit around the cafeteria until they reached a table that was nearly filled. She gestured for them to sit before taking the less bulky one and placing him in front of another girl.

The girl who led the foreign pair slammed her hands on the table, and seeing as how no one at the table reacted, as if this is a normal occurrence, the pair looked to her curiously. “Guys!” she said. “This is Thor, and Loki. They’re the new kids that everyone’s talking about. I’ve adopted them into our people’s way of life.”

“Oh Andy, you’re so kind,” one boy remarked, grasping his hands together and looking up to the girl with false adoration. The girl, Andy, in turn narrowed her eyes at him, swatted him over the head, and said, “Feel the wrath of the gods, bitch.”

“Don’t mind them,” said another girl and grasped the attention of the alien pair immediately. She smiled and tucked a bit of her velvet-colored hair behind her ear. “That’s just Andy and Tony. Tony’s the guy getting beaten up.” She held out her hand then. “I’m Eleanor, but everyone calls me El.”

Thor was the first to take her hand and he smiled kindly. “I am Thor,” he responded, giving her a nod and releasing her grasp. She turned to the other boy, the one with less of a build.

“So you must be Loki then?” Her brow arched, almost perfectly, and after a moment the boy nodded, and his hand slipped into hers perfectly. She smiled. “Well, guys, this is Clint and Natasha, over there is Steve, and next to him is Bruce. And you’ve met Andy, and the one bickering with her is Tony.” She smiled at the pair. “Welcome to the madness.”

After one final thwack that had Tony backing down in defeat, Andy looked around and said, “Y’know what? All of you should come to work tonight. Thor, Loki, you guys come too. Come hang out with the group!”

“That’s actually not a bad idea,” Steve said. “That way we have more time to talk.”

“So what do you guys say? We can pick you up too, don’t worry about that.” Andy grinned childishly, and after sharing a quick look, both Loki and Thor agreed to go. “Perfect! Tonight, we ride!”

“Andy, sit down.”

**\--------------**

The final bell had rung, and the pair, Loki and Thor, waved goodbye to their new friends as they set out to head home. They turned, taking the back road that they had taken to get to the school in the first place.

“So, Loki,” Thor said. “What did you think of today?”

Loki pursed his lips for a moment, then nodded as he looked to his companion. “It was all in all a good day.”

It didn’t take long for the pair to reach their home, walking through the door and slipping off their bags and shoes before meeting their family in the living room. “Thor, Loki!” their mother called as they entered. Even Balder, the middle child of the Odinson family, came out to see his brothers. “How was school today?”

“It was excellent, mother,” Thor said with a wide grin. He sat next to his father while Loki moved to the couch beside Balder.

“Good! Did you make any friends?”

“We did. And we were going to ask you something.”

“What is it?” Odin, their father, asked.

“We would like to go out with them tonight. We are going to Andy’s workplace.”

“And Eleanor will be picking us up,” Loki spoke up quietly.

“Andy and Eleanor… Are these your friends?” their mother asked.

"Yes, along with Tony, Clint, Steve, Natasha, and Bruce,” Thor explained, relaxing into the couch. “May we go?”

“I believe it’s okay. Odin?”

The man was silent for a moment, looking over his boys, before he smiled and gave them a nod. “Of course. Your curfew is 11.”

It was all Thor and Loki could do not to jump up out of happiness.


	5. Never Invited

“Y’know I never really have been to Andy’s work,” Tony says. He looked around the little… What is this? A bar? It had one, and they were sitting around a little table—well, everyone except Andy—and there was little dance floor and waitresses and everything.

“That’s because she never invited you,” Natasha said matter-of-factly. Her brows rose as she settled back into Clint’s lap with his arms secure around her waist. Tony’s lower lip jutted out as he crossed his arms childishly.

Deciding that she didn’t want to hear the possible bicker that will ensue, El turned to Loki, who hadn’t spoken a word all night. She sent him a smile and a “hey.”

Loki looked up from his silent thumb-twiddling. He never was as good as Thor when it came to social things, such as parties or get-togethers such as this. He felt unwanted almost, and in turn leaned to want to be alone. But when he heard the soft greeting, he actually got a little excited that someone wanted to talk to him. “Hello,” he replied.

“So,” she said, “we didn’t really get to talk too much today. Did you like Shield?”

He gave her a little nod of his head. “It was not bad. A tad awkward from the stares but, I guess that is to be expected of newcomers.”

She gave a little laugh and nodded. “Yeah. Where are you guys from?”

“Norway.”

“That’s pretty far. What brought you guys to the good ol’ U. S. of A?”

He chuckled and sent her a small shrug. “Father decided that we’d needed change. So, here we are.”

“Change is always good.” She gave him a nod and a small smile. “Well, welcome. I’m glad you guys decided to come. It’s nice to see some new faces around here.”

“Why thank you. That’s very kind.” And he meant it. Regardless if it was her being polite or actually meaning it, that was very nice of her to say to him. He decided that he rather enjoyed her company already.

It was then that the lights around them began to dim and instead illuminated the stage, showing a large piano with a microphone attached to it sitting with a mike stand standing alone in front of it. A band stood in the back, waiting for their commands. And where was Andy? Loki couldn’t help but wonder. He looked over to El, who only smiled widely at him and nodding towards the stage.

Tony was wondering the same thing Loki was, looking over to the stage in confusion and forgetting his childish behavior. Someone was gonna perform or whatever and Andy  _still_ hadn’t shown up; although that is kinda normal behavior for her. She’d come in late on many occasions.

But then someone came out on stage, dressed super nice too. Dark, raven colored hair was curled and pulled down to the side in a low ponytail, the curls falling over the shoulder. The dress fitted her pretty well too (damn, those  _tits_ ). The dress was a little black number, strapless with the bust pushing said breasts up, accenting them, while the rest curved and fitted the figure. Deep, turquoise colored eyes flicked over the crowd, and she waved to them and-- _holy shit that’s Andy_.

He’d never seen her so dressed up before, she was always in some pair of jeans or tights under skirts or whatever and a shirt, and if Tony was going to be honest with himself at this moment, she looked good. Really good.

She said hello through the mike, her usually loud voice quieted down to a near murmur. Wow. This was new. She sat down at the piano—she played?—and her lips twitched into a smile as her fingers moved across the key, and something that could rival a songbird’s voice poured from her throat.

**Come up to meet you,**   
**tell you I'm sorry.**   
**You don't know how lovely you are.**   
**I had to find you, tell you I need you,**   
**Tell you I set you apart.**

Well holy shit.

**Tell me your secrets, and ask me your questions.**   
**Oh let's go back to the start.**   
**Running in circles, coming up tails,**   
**Heads on a science apart.**

Was this her job? Is this what came to do during her shifts here at… wherever they were?

**Nobody said it was easy.**   
**It's such a shame for us to part.**   
**Nobody said it was easy,**   
**No one ever said it would be this hard.**   
**Oh, take me back to the start.**

Tony could only stare in wonder at the girl he thought he knew, at the one who would constantly yell and cheat off his chemistry homework and playfully beat up people for the fun of it and didn’t wear things like dresses.

**I was just guessing at numbers and figures,**   
**Pulling the puzzles apart.**   
**Questions of science, science and progress**   
**Don't speak as loud as my heart.**

Natasha noticed this, and with a satisfied smirk she settled into her boyfriend’s lap again, watching her best friend do what she does best. If Tasha knew anything, it was that there were only two places Andria Cru in two places: one was with their group, their friends that have been together since 2nd grade.

**And tell me you love me, come back and haunt me.**   
**Oh and I rush to the start.**   
**Running in circles, chasing our tails,**   
**Coming back as we are.**

And the second was right up there on that stage.

**Nobody said it was easy.**   
**Oh it's such a shame for us to part.**   
**Nobody said it was easy,**   
**No one ever said it would be so hard.**   
**I'm going back to the start.**

Eleanor was proud of her friend for this. She’d found work doing something she loved, and she was great at it. She clapped along with everyone else when her friend finished the first song and moved from the piano, noticing as Tony did as well with the greatest look of surprise on his face. She’d never seen Tony like that. This was new.The band behind Andy began to play, and she took hold of the mike stand.

**Regrets collect like old friends,**   
**Here to relive your darkest moments.**   
**I can see no way, I can see no way,**   
**And all of the ghouls come out to play.**

El nodded and tilted her head at her friend, giving her a wide grin and receiving one in return.

**And every demon wants his pound of flesh,**   
**But I like to keep some things to myself.**   
**I like to keep my issues drawn.**   
**It's always darkest before the dawn.**   
**And I've been a fool and I've been blind.**   
**I can never leave the past behind.**   
**I can see no way, I can see no way,**   
**I'm always dragging that horse around.**

Andy looked rather natural on stage, like she was most in her element, Tony noted, pushing aside she wasn’t wearing normal attire and that she looked rather, well, girly and older than seventeen years old.

**Our love is questioned, such a mournful sound.**   
**Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground.**   
**So I like to keep my issues drawn,**   
**But it's always darkest before the dawn.**   
**Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa!**   
**Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa!**   
**And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back,**   
**So shake him off, oh whoa.**

Loki had seen very few people with the natural talent and grace that his new friend held up on that stage and Andy was now on that list. She was putting her all into this, he could tell.

**And I am done with my graceless heart,**   
**So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart,**   
**'Cause I like to keep my issues drawn,**   
**It's always darkest before the dawn.**   
**Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa!**   
**Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa!**   
**And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back,**   
**So shake him off, oh whoa.**   
**And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back,**   
**And given half the chance would I take any of it back.**   
**It's a fine romance but it's left me so undone.**   
**It's always darkest before the dawn.**   
**And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't,**   
**So here's to drinks in the dark, at the end of my road.**   
**And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope.**   
**It's a shot in the dark, aimed right at my throat.**   
**'Cause looking for heaven, found the devil in me.**   
**Looking for heaven, found the devil in me.**   
**Well what the hell I'm gonna let it happen to me, yeah.**

The crowd, every bit of them, clapped at how long and steady and strong she could hold that note, and the girl up on stage smiled and let that little bit of praise sink in.

**Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa!**   
**Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa!**   
**And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back,**   
**So shake him off, oh whoa.**   
**Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa!**   
**Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, ooh whoa!**   
**And it's hard to dance with a devil on your back,**   
**So shake him off, oh whoa.**

Andy did a few more songs before it was time to go (it was still a school night, after all), and a man with a patch over his eye came up on stage, giving her a warm embrace before she scampered off.

“Who’s that?” Tony asked, turning back to the group with furrowed brows and jerking his thumb back towards the stage.

“That’s Mr. Fury,” Natasha informed him.

“He’s the guy who gave Andy this job,” Steve said, standing up and shrugging on his jacket. Tony merely pursed his lips as everyone around him began to get themselves together.

And for some reason, he was somewhat wounded by the fact that Andy never invited him to things like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs used were The Scientist by Coldplay and Shake it Out by Florence + The Machine, in that order.


End file.
